Steel demand falls in January due to CNY holiday

The composite PMI for January 2023 was 46.03, up 1.71 points from the previous month and 0.46 points from the previous year. The seasonally adjusted composite index stood at 49.94, up 3.39 points m/m and 0.42 points y/y.

In general, the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday had a greater impact on the production of downstream players. At the end of the month, production in the engineering, automotive and other industries quickly resumed after the holidays, and about 80% of employees returned to work. It is expected that the construction and transport infrastructure will fully resume work after the Lantern Festival.

New orders fell even more compared to the previous month. The manufacturing index stood at 42.26 on the month, up 3.91 points m/m and 0.82 points year on year. The new orders index was 48.79, up 2.11 points on the month and up 2.08 points year on year.

Source: SMM Information & Technology Co, Ltd.